(1888PressRelease)
October 03, 2006 - Victoria, Australia, 2 October 2006--- It seems as if people migrating to Australia will have to hone more of their English-speaking skills. Prime Minister John Howard remains firm about the proposed changes in migration policies.
In the past, the Australian government had been lenient on its immigration policies just to address the massive skill shortage the country is experiencing. With the proposed changes though, an immigrant's waiting time rises from two to four years. Not only that but more rigorous language and skills assessments will be conducted. The above policies do not intend to discriminate against any group of immigrants. Rather, the new policies will hopefully prevent fraudulent Australian recruiters and employers from exploiting skilled immigrants with low wages.
Skilled immigrants continue to flock in the country at a fast rate, and the Australian government is employing all means to make application process speedy yet efficient. While knowledge of English is certainly a requirement, Australia does not require its immigrants to have perfect English right away. The four years waiting period would be plenty of time to for them to learn the language and incorporate Australian values, democracy, patriotism, beliefs, as well.
For more information, visit the Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs now (http://www.australia.gov.au/127) and take a free online Skilled Visa assessment at National Visas (http://www.nationalvisas.com.au/skilled/skilledvisas.htm).
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